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TONY AND OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING
SCATHING HIT COMEDY GOD OF CARNAGE
BEGINS AT THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY JANUARY 6
WHAT
The Huntington Theatre Company continues its 30th Anniversary Season with the Tony and Olivier Award-winning scathing hit comedy God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza. Daniel Goldstein directs.
WHEN
January 6 – February 5, 2011
Evenings: Tues. – Thurs. at 7:30pm; Fri. – Sat. at 8pm; Select Sun. at 7pm
Matinees: Select Wed., Sat., and Sun. at 2pm
Days and times vary; see complete schedule at end of release.
WHERE
BU Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston – Avenue of the Arts
TICKETS
Single tickets start at $25 and subscriptions are on sale:
$5 off: seniors
$10 off: subscribers and BU community (faculty/staff/alumni)
$25 “35 Below” tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required)
$15 student and military tickets (valid ID required)
(BOSTON) – The new year begins with a bang at Huntington Theatre Company, next presenting acclaimed French playwright Yasmina Reza’s scathing hit comedy of bad manners God of Carnage. Reza (Art, Conversations After a Burial), known for skillfully turning social tragedies into riotous comedies, rips through the most basic social settings and into the heart and soul of two couples dealing with the mayhem of matrimony and parenthood in this “savagely entertaining” (Variety) Tony and Olivier Award winner. Daniel Goldstein (Falsettos, Godspell) directs Christopher Hampton’s translation of the searing comic dissection of parenting.
In the Broadway and international sensation God of Carnage, two sets of seemingly disparate parents meet for the first time. When Annette and Alan Raleigh’s son hits Michael and Veronica Novak’s with a stick in a nasty schoolyard tangle, the two couples meet in to discuss the problem. But all attempts at civilized discussion quickly devolve into childlike behavior in this fast, furious, and very funny comedy of bad manners that The New York Times calls, “ninety minutes of laughter that comes from the gut.”
“Yasmina Reza’s play is witty, biting, ferocious, and unbelievably funny,” says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. “It’s for smart audiences to laugh with their neighbors – just right for a cold winter night in Boston.”
In December, filmmaker Roman Polanski’s translation/direction of God of Carnage will be released. Entitled Carnage, the film stars Academy Award winners Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christopher Waltz and Oscar nominee John C. Reilly.
In God of Carnage, “highly skilled stage performers take on roles that allow them to rip the stuffing out of one another, tear up the scenery, stomp on their own vanity, and have the time of their lives.” (The New York Times)
Brooks Ashmanskas (Alan Raleigh) previously appeared at the Huntington in She Loves Me, Present Laughter (IRNE Award), and Amphitryon. He appeared on Broadway inPromises, Promises; Present Laughter; The Ritz; Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me; The Producers; Gypsy; Little Me; Dream; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; and On the Twentieth Century.
Stephen Bogardus (Michael Novak) appeared on Broadway in West Side Story, Les Miserables, Safe Sex, The Grapes of Wrath, King David, and White Christmas, and Off Broadway in the Falsettos trilogy. Regional credits include M. Butterfly (Arena Stage), Elegies (Canon Theatre), and James Joyce’s The Dead (Ahmanson Theatre and The Kennedy Center).
Johanna Day (Veronica Novak) previously appeared in the Huntington’s production of Carol Mulroney. Her
Broadway credits include August: Osage County, Proof (Tony and Lucille Lortel Award nominations), and Lombardi.
Christy Pusz (Annette Raleigh) appeared in the Broadway productions of Talk Radio, The Odd Couple, Dinner at Eight, and Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme. Off Broadway credits in The New Century (Lincoln Center Theater) and Homefront (La Mama ETC).
Yasmina Reza (playwright) is a multi-award-winning French playwright, novelist, and memoirist. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and produced worldwide, earning critical praise and popular international success. She is the author of seven plays including Conversations After a Burial (Molière Award), Winter Crossing(Molière Award), Art (Molière, Olivier, and Tony Awards), The Unexpected Man, Life x 3, A Spanish Play, and God of Carnage; the novels Desolation, Adam Haberberg, and On Arthur Schopenhauer’s Sledge; the memoirs Hammerklavier and Nulle part; and Dawn, Dusk, or Night, a nonfiction account of a year she spent trailing former French President (then-candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy on the campaign trail. Her film credits include Le Pique-Nique de Lulu Kreutz directed by Didier Martiny, a translation of Kafka’sMetamorphosis for Roman Polanski, and Chicas, which she directed. Reza resides in Paris.
Daniel Goldstein (director) directed Falsettos (IRNE Award), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and The Cry of the Reed for the Huntington. His revival of Godspell is currently running on Broadway. Recent credits include The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown (Goodspeed/Broadway Across America) and Artificial Fellow Traveler with Ethan Sandler, as well as an upcoming production of Anna Christie at the Old Globe. As a writer, his musical Unknown Soldier (written with Michael Friedman for a Huntington Theatre Company Calderwood Commission) was at the O’Neill National Musical Theater Conference this past summer. Other projects include The Ride (NYC commercial), Golden Boy (Juilliard), True West (Williamstown Theater Festival), Miss Margarida’s Way (Bay Street Theater, with Julie Halston), Lower Ninth (the Flea and SPF), and the Off Broadway commercial production of the hit Fringe Festival musical Walmartopia. He served as the associate director for All Shook Up! and Fully Committed and the resident director for the First National Tour of Mamma Mia! He is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading theatre company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.
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WHAT: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
WHERE: SHUBERT THEATRE
WHEN: DECEMBER 5-18
TICKETS: (866)523-7469
INFO: Jerry Herman out did himself with La Cage. It was recently revived on Broadway with Kelsey Grammer. This musical stands up no matter how you produce it. The songs “I AM WHAT I AM,” “SONG ON THE SAND,” and “THE BEST OF TIMES IS NOW,”
has one hit after another.
The ever-tanned George Hamilton plays George in La Cage Aux Folles.
The show tells the story of Georges (Hamilton) the owner of a glitzy nightclub in lovely Saint-Tropez, and his partner Albin (Sieber), who moonlights as the glamorous chanteuse Zaza. When Georges’ son brings his fiancée’s conservative parents home to meet the flashy pair, the bonds of family are put to the test as the feather boas fly! LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is a tuneful and touching tale of one family’s struggle to stay together… stay fabulous… and above all else, stay true to themselves!
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES recently made Tony Awards history as the first show to ever win the Tony Award three times for best production. The classic musical comedy by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein originally won six Tony Awards in 1984, including Best Musical. A Broadway revival won two 2005 Tony Awards including the Best Revival of a Musical prize. The new, freshly reconceived
LA CAGE won three 2010 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson).
The production is also the winner of three Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson) and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play by Jean Poiret.
Shorter, Jr., Trevor Downey, Logan Keslar, Terry Lavell, Todd Thurston, Todd Lattimore, Christophe Caballerro, and SuEllen Estey.
WHAT: PETER PAN
WHERE:THE 360 THEATRE on CITY HALL PLAZA
WHEN:OCTOBER 18-DECEMBER 30
TICKETS: Tickets are available online at www.peterpantheshow.com/boston by phone at 888-PPANTIX (1-888-772-6849) and at the box office on City Hall Plaza
INFO:
More than 500,000 people on two continents have enjoyed this theatrical experience. Conceived by an award-winning creative team and featuring 23 actors, stunning puppets, epic music, dazzling flying sequences performed in the world’s first 360-degree CGI theater set, PETER PAN is an extraordinary experience. The Boston engagement of the timeless masterpiece is presented by threesixty° entertainment.
One of the most striking elements of this new production is the setting in which it is presented. The threesixty° Theatre, a 1,300 seat theater tent, allows for performance “in the round” and stands on City Hall Plaza, Boston.
The entire interior of the tent is lit with more than 15,000 square feet of Hi-Resolution video – three times the size of Imax screens – so that both cast and audience are immersed in a CGI Neverland. When Peter and Wendy fly to Neverland, the audience flies with them over 400 square miles of virtual London and beyond.
threesixty° entertainment, a theatrical production company based in London with Charlie Burnell, Matthew Churchill, and Robert Butters as principals, commissioned a first class creative team to develop this production of PETER PAN. The cast of PETER PAN features members of the original London production joined by American actors, making it a truly international company.
PETER PAN, directed by Ben Harrison and designed by William Dudley, is adapted by Tanya Ronder from the Barrie story, with music composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. Dudley has received more theatre awards and accolades in the United Kingdom than any theatre artist save Judi Dench. Choreography is by Fleur Darkin, sound design by Gregory Clarke, lighting design by Mark Henderson, fight direction by Nicholas Hall, puppetry design by Sue Buckmaster and illusions by Paul Kieve.
About this production of PETER PAN:
12 projectors, delivering 360 degree projection
10 million pixels
15,000 square feet of CGI
400 square miles of virtual London circa 1904 were rendered
The largest surround CGI venue in the world
The world’s first fully 360-degree projected movie for live theater performance
The tent, which stands 100 feet high, was shipped via boat, 6,000 miles from London to San Francisco.
200 computers took four weeks to create the images – it would have taken eight years for a single computer to render
What: Kathleen Turner in HIGH
Where: Cutler Majestic Theatre Boston
When: Dec 6-11
Tickets: (617)824-8000
Psst for a discount, use this code: HIGH20
Here’s a heads up for December. For one week only, Kathleen Turner will be appearing at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in HIGH. The story centers around Sister Jamison Connelly (Turner), who agrees to sponsor a 19 year old drug-user in order to help him deal with his demons. In doing so, Sister Connelly has to face her own. High explores the universal themes of truth, forgiveness and redemption. High contains strong language, mature themes and full male nudity.
BTW, the NewRep did an outstanding job with their last two–woman play “Collected Stories.” Bobbie Steinbach and Liz Hayes give wonderful performances as the mentor and mentee and the dilemma faced when that balance shifts. The NewReps next production is “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher November 27-December 18.h
WHAT: ITZAK PERLMAN, VIOLIN
WHERE: SYMPHONY HALL
WHEN: NOVEMBER 20 at 3 PM
TICKETS: www.celebrityseries.org, by calling CelebrityCharge at (617) 482-6661
INFO:
Celebrity Series of Boston will present violinist Itzhak Perlman in recital.
This marks Itzhak Perlman’s 23rd performance with the Celebrity Series of Boston, with the most recent in 2007. Born in Israel in 1945, violinist Itzhak Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and began his career with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He then joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and in December of 1994 he joined them again for their first visits to China and India. In December 1990, Perlman visited Russia for the second time to participate in a gala performance in Leningrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth. In December 1993, Perlman visited the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to perform in a Dvorák gala concert with
Yo-Yo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Rudolf Firkusny and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
Perlman has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies, at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals, with the St. Paul and New York chamber orchestras, and with the Israel Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. He was Music Advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004, and he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005. He also participates each summer in the Perlman Music Program and teaches at the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.
In fall of 2011, he joins the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas in a gala concert to open their centennial season, and returns to the same orchestra in April 2012 on a play/conduct program. In October 2011, Mr. Perlman will travel to Asia for recitals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau with pianist and frequent collaborator, Rohan De Silva. Other highlights of his 2011-12 season include the gala opening of the new Kaufman Center in Kansas City, Missouri with the Kansas City Symphony, a play/conduct performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and recitals across North America including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and Washington, DC.
Mr. Perlman has been recognized with numerous awards, including four Emmy Awards and
15 Grammy awards. President Reagan granted him a “Medal of Liberty” in 1986, and President Clinton awarded him the “National Medal of Arts” in December 2000. He also took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama and in May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Julliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in 2005.
The program for Itzhak Perlman’s performance is to be determined.
WHAT: APHRODITE & THE GODS OF LOVE
WHERE: MFA BOSTON
WHEN: OCTOBER 26-FEBRUARY 20
TICKETS: www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300.
INFO:
Ancient worshipers had to travel to Mount Olympus in
Greece or to temples in Cyprus to pay homage to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
beauty, but today, devotees can admire the beguiling divinity closer to home at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), in Aphrodite and the Gods of Love.
it is the first museum exhibition of classical
works devoted solely to Aphrodite (known as Venus to the Romans) and her realm—one
that celebrates her likeness as the first female nude in western art history. It features
some 160 extraordinary works from the MFA’s Greek and Roman collection, among the
finest holdings in the United States, and includes 13 important loans—nine from Rome
and Naples.
The museum is a great destination. Make it a habit, you will be glad you did.
WHAT: Boston Symphony Orchestra
WHERE: Symphony Hall
WHEN: November 25-29
TICKETS: 617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200
INFO: 508-754-3231 www.musicworcester.org
In his second straight week on the BSO podium, Ludovic Morlot continues to demonstrate his versatility in three concerts November 25-29. To open the program, Mr. Morlot leads the orchestra in John Harbison’s Symphony No. 4, continuing the survey of the composer’s complete symphonies that the BSO began last season. The concert ends with Mahler’s at times brooding, at times vigorously energetic First Symphony. In between the two symphonies is Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from his masterful ballet Daphnis et Chloé, beginning with a scintillating depiction of the sunrise and gradually gaining momentum until finally expending its energy at the end of a frantic orgiastic dance.
This program is one of several programs that the BSO will feature as part of its five-city West Coast tour, December 6-10, under the direction Ludovic Morlot. The tour will begin with two concerts, December 6 and 7, in San Francisco, where the orchestra will be one of seven major U.S. orchestra’s featured in the San Francisco Symphony’s 100th anniversary season-long celebration, and end on December 10 in Los Angeles, where the orchestra will perform for the first time in Disney Hall, after a 20-year absence from the city. The BSO will also perform in Santa Barbara on December 8 and Palm Desert on December 9
WHAT: Handel’s Messiah
WHERE: Mechanics Hall Worcester
WHEN: Sat. December 3 at 8 PM
INFO:
The Worcester Chorus has performed the Christmas portion of Handel’s masterwork each year since 1897. Experience the sound of 100+ voices of the chorus under direction of Christopher Shepard, accompanied by the Festival Orchestra, in the beautifully decorated setting of Mechanics Hall. Singers in the chorus come from as far away as Bolton, Sharon, Southborough, Charlton, Brimfield, Lancaster, and Pawtucket, RI, as well as Worcester and many of the surrounding towns in Central MA.
Special guest soloists for this performance will include renowned Grammy-nominated counter-tenor Ryland Angel, performing the alto solo part.
Soprano Susan Consoli has been a soloist with Boston’s
Emmanuel Music’s Bach Cantata Series since 2005 as well as soloist with the Carmel Bach Festival since 2004, to name but two of her many appearances.
Stanley Wilson, tenor, has a background in both classical music and musical theatre. He has a Master of Music from The Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA in Opera Performance, has worked with the New England Opera Theatre, as well as many choral groups and orchestras and is currently teaching voice at the Groton school as well as privately.
Steven Small has been critically hailed as one of New England’s outstanding soloists and has enjoyed a distinguished career in oratorio and recital throughout New England and beyond. A lyric baritone, Small has been acclaimed for the beauty and flexibility of his voice, as well as his dramatic and interpretive capacity. He serves as the Senior Pastor of the First Congregational Church in West Boylston, MA.
Concert sponsored in part by the Peoples United Bank.
Media Sponsor: Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
The Worcester Music Festival is the oldest Music Festival in the United States, and carries a rich history, including that of the distinguished Worcester Chorus. Since 1858 it has been pre-eminent in presenting great performances by world-renowned orchestras and guest soloists, chamber music, ballet, world music and dance, jazz and choral masterworks in the best venues in Worcester. The Music Guild, a volunteer organization associated with Music Worcester, supports music programs for students and The Young Artist Scholarship Competition.
Music Worcester Inc. has made “a tradition of excellence” its hallmark and its Worcester Music Festival has been recognized by the Library of Congress. Music Worcester, Inc. offices are located in Mechanics Hall at 323 Main Street in the heart of downtown, and presents in the best halls in Worcester.
WHAT: THREE PIANOS
WHERE: Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge,
WHEN: December 7, 2011 – January 8, 2012
TICKETS: 1-800-439-2370.
For further information call 617-547-8300 or visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org
INFO:
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) continues its 2011-12 season with Three Pianos by Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy and Dave Malloy, with music from Franz Schubert’s Winterreise, Op. 89, D911 (1828), directed by Rachel Chavkin. The production opens on Wednesday, December 7 (press opening on Thursday, December 8 at 7pm) at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, and runs through January 8, 2012.
“The best antidote to winter’s bitter dregs…Warms spectators at the hearth of musical enthusiasm… Like being cozily tucked away with a clutch of nerdy music-loving friends, Three Pianos transforms Winterreise’s spectral solitudes into a parable of artistic community.” — The Village Voice
“Full-blooded and full-bodied, Three Pianos lifts its glass to music, to Schubert and to the type of friendship that can make you laugh off heartbreak. It’s also a superb evening. Cheers.” — TimeOut New York
The OBIE winning hit music-theatre event that wowed audiences and critics alike in its sold-out runs at the Ontological-Hysteric Theater and New York Theater Workshop – is a theatrical explosion of Franz Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise. Filled with fantastical touches and inventive arrangements, Three Pianos is a colorful and imaginative evening of chaos, exploring Schubert’s music, life, and times. Set on a blustery winter night, three friends – each manning a piano – lead the audience through fragments of Schubert’s famous work while grappling with fundamental questions about the nature of music and drinking too much. The three pianists slip into a wild reenactment of a “Schubertiad,” a musical salon party thrown by Schubert and his friends, connecting the two groups through the centuries. An evening of hilarity and heartbreak unfolds, in which the audience is invited to the party. Compositional mayhem, shifting rivalries, and some unfortunate butchery of the German language ensue.
About the Artists:
Writer, arranger, and performer Rick Burkhardt is an award‐winning composer, songwriter, and playwright. His original chamber music, theatre, and text pieces have been performed by dozens of ensembles in over forty US cities, as well as in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. He is a founding member of the Nonsense Company, a touring experimental music/theater trio, and the songwriter and accordionist for the Prince Myshkins, a political cabaret/folk duo whose songs have been performed and recorded by a wide variety of musicians across the US.
Writer, arranger, and performer Alec Duffy is a director and playwright, and founder of the theatre company Hoi Polloi. Recent original work includes The less we talk: a meditation on groupsinging, Dysphoria (Ontological Theater) and The Top Ten People of the Millennium Sing Their Favorite Schubert Lieder, which premiered in New York and toured to Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. He was a Drama League Directing Fellow, and one of seven directors nationwide to be selected for the 2007‐ 09 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors.
Writer, arranger, and performer Dave Malloy is also a composer and sound designer, the winner of a Special Citation OBIE Award and the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant, a recipient of the 2009-11 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Theatre Designers, and the 2011 composer-in-residence at Ars Nova. He has written six full length musicals, including Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage (2011 Edinburgh Herald Angel, 2008 Glickman Award, New Yorker Best of 2009) with Banana Bag & Bodice, with whom he has been a company member since 2002. Other shows include Beardo, Sandwich, Clown Bible (“Best Play of the Year,” “Best Music,” East Bay Express 2007) and (The 99-cent) Miss Saigon, a shoe-string adaptation complete with a toy helicopter on a zip line, for which he was musical director, pianist and Chris. He is currently working on Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera based on Tolstoy’s War & Peace. He lives in Brooklyn.
Director Rachel Chavkin is the Artistic Director of the award-winning ensemble the TEAM. With the TEAM, she has directed/co-authored seven works, including Mission Drift (co-produced by NY’s Performance Space 122 and Lisbon’s Culturgest, Winner of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe First, Herald Angel, and Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize), Particularly in the Heartland (2006 Fringe First, Top Ten 2007 Time Out New York), and Architecting (2008 Fringe First, Top Ten 2009 Portugal’s Publico), produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. She has also collaborated with Three Pianos’ Dave Malloy on his musical adaptation of Book 8 of Tolstoy’s War and Peace (entitled Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) at Ars Nova, playwright/performer/activist Taylor Mac on The Lily’s Revenge at HERE (with whom she’ll re-unite for the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Lily’s, Summer 2012), playwright/composer Molly Rice and composer Stephanie Johnstone on The Agee/Evans Project about James Agee’s and Walker Evans’ seminal book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, playwright Steve Yockey on Wonder, and Keith Reddin on Acquainted With the Night. She serves on the directing faculty at Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and teaches Shakespeare at Pace University. Rachel is an Artistic Associate at Classic Stage Company, for whom she has directed a number of readings/workshops and served as Mandy Patinkin’s Shakespeare Coach, an alum of the Drama League Directors Project, the Women’s Project Director’s Lab, a New Georges Affiliate Artist, and an NYTW Usual Suspect.
WHAT: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL QUIDAM
WHERE: Worcester DUC CENTER
WHEN: DECEMBER 14-18
TICKETS: www.cirquedusoleil.com/quidam or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
INFO:
The show Quidam had its world premiere in Montreal under the Big Top in April 1996. Since that time, the production has toured on five continents and been experienced by millions of people. In December 2010, Quidam embarked on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas throughout North America.The international cast features 52 world-class acrobats, musicians, singers and characters. Young Zoé is bored; her parents, distant and apathetic, ignore her. Her life has lost all meaning. Seeking to fill the void of her existence, she slides into an imaginary world—the world of Quidam—where she meets characters who encourage her to free her soul.
Brilliant Arts & Entertainment
The season has heated up and we are in the midst of a cultural cornucopia of arts with ballet, plays, concerts and much more. Here are just a few events that you won’t want to miss.
WHAT: ROMEO AND JULIET BOSTON BALLET
WHERE: OPERA HOUSE HOUSE
WHEN: NOVEMBER 3-13
TICKETS: www.bostonballet.org/ 617.695.6955
INFO:
Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen’s presents John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet. This presentation of Cranko’s masterpiece love story is the second time in the company’s history that this version has been performed. Romeo and Juliet is staged by Jane Bourne.
“Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet is the most satisfying telling of Shakespeare’s story as a ballet,” said Nissinen. “The choreography is a perfect match for Prokofiev’s score and provides all the drama, passion and tragedy of this timeless tale. I know the company will excel in this stunning production and audiences will be swept away by production’s music and choreography.”
Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1962 with the Stuttgart Ballet. Cranko’s exquisitely rendered ballet, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, is an inspired realization of William Shakespeare’s tale. While Prokofiev’s original composition initially faced heavy criticism, it has become one of the most popular of all ballet compositions.
When the Stuttgart Ballet danced the American premiere of John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet in 1969, Clive Barnes wrote in The New York Times that this staging of Prokofiev’s score “is, quite simply, the best of a surprisingly distinguished bunch. Many choreographers have attempted the score, but it has been left to Cranko to give the work its complete fulfillment.” With Romeo and Juliet, Cranko masterfully wove choreography and drama into a seamless whole.
When Boston Ballet premiered the production in 2008, The Boston Globe wrote, “the company’s splendid new production hits jackpot. This one is the whole package – elegant dancing, eye-popping pageantry, and vivid storytelling.” This is the third full-length masterpiece by Cranko in Boston Ballet’s repertoire. The Company danced Onegin in 2002, 1994 and 1997, and The Taming of the Shrew in 2004.
Cranko (1927-1973) choreographed his first production of Romeo and Juliet for La Scala Ballet in 1958, with Carla Fracci as Juliet. In 1962, he restaged and revised the piece for Stuttgart Ballet, where he had been appointed director a year earlier, with Marcia Haydée was Juliet. Other companies that have danced Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet include the National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet (1983). In 1978, the Joffrey Ballet became the first American company to stage the production.
Cranko was born in Rustenberg, South Africa in 1927. He trained at the Cape Town University Ballet School and choreographed his first ballet there in 1945, to the suite from Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. In 1946, he moved to London to study at the Sadler’s Wells School, and was soon offered a place at Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, the precursor of The Royal Ballet. Although Cranko originally joined the company as a dancer, he was named company choreographer within four years, after displaying remarkable talent in the art.
Cranko choreographed ballets for both the Sadler’s Wells and the newly formed Royal Ballet throughout the 1950s. He had become internationally recognized and was in high demand, creating works for the New York City Ballet, the Rambert Company, Paris Opéra Ballet and La Scala in Milan. In 1961 he was appointed director of Stuttgart Ballet.
In 1973, John Cranko died unexpectedly at the age of 46. His brilliant career was cut short at its height. He left behind a repertory of dramatic classical ballets which are now performed internationally.
WHAT: LUCKY STIFF
WHERE: SOMERVILLE THEATRE
WHEN: STARTING NOV 4
TICKETS: www.moonboxproductions.org
INFO: Lucky Stiff, a rollicking musical comedy, comes to the Somerville Theatre for six performances, beginning November 4. From the Tony-Award-winning writing team of Ahrens and Flaherty (Ragtime, Seussical! The Musical and My Favorite Year), Lucky Stiff follows the madcap adventures of hapless shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon, who has inherited a fortune from his long-lost Uncle Tony. The one catch: to collect the money, he has to take his uncle’s corpse on a last spree to Monte Carlo, fighting off a myopic mobster, a mysterious Italian, a furious optometrist, and a dog-loving activist along the way.
Lucky Stiff is the second offering of Cambridge-based Moonbox Productions, which made its debut with Godspell at the Brattle Theatre in April. Boston Herald theater critic Daniel Gewertz called that production, under the direction of Allison Choat, “a minor theatrical miracle,” and a “gutsy” staging that “deserved an ‘Amen.’” Choat, who has worked with the Santa Fe Opera, Oberlin Conservatory, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Boston Stage Company, returns as director for Lucky Stiff.
The spirited cast includes Matthew Zahnzinger, Joelle Kross, Ryan Edlinger, Sierra Kagen and Equity Actor Robert D. Murphy, as well as a talented ensemble of stuffy solicitors, evil landladies, showgirls, lepers, nuns, and last but not least, the corpse of Uncle Tony. With slamming doors, mistaken identities and toe-tapping hilarity, Lucky Stiff has and flaunts it all. Kudos for the play include a Richard Rodgers Award and a Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical.
WHAT: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
WHERE: SHUBERT THEATRE
WHEN: DECEMBER 5-18
TICKETS: (866)523-7469
INFO: Jerry Herman out did himself with La Cage. It was recently revived on Broadway with Kelsey Grammer. This musical stands up no matter how you produce it. The songs “I AM WHAT I AM,” “SONG ON THE SAND,” and “THE BEST OF TIMES IS NOW,”
has one hit after another.
The ever-tanned George Hamilton plays George in La Cage Aux Folles.
The show tells the story of Georges (Hamilton) the owner of a glitzy nightclub in lovely Saint-Tropez, and his partner Albin (Sieber), who moonlights as the glamorous chanteuse Zaza. When Georges’ son brings his fiancée’s conservative parents home to meet the flashy pair, the bonds of family are put to the test as the feather boas fly! LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is a tuneful and touching tale of one family’s struggle to stay together… stay fabulous… and above all else, stay true to themselves!
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES recently made Tony Awards history as the first show to ever win the Tony Award three times for best production. The classic musical comedy by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein originally won six Tony Awards in 1984, including Best Musical. A Broadway revival won two 2005 Tony Awards including the Best Revival of a Musical prize. The new, freshly reconceived
LA CAGE won three 2010 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson).
The production is also the winner of three Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson) and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play by Jean Poiret.
Shorter, Jr., Trevor Downey, Logan Keslar, Terry Lavell, Todd Thurston, Todd Lattimore, Christophe Caballerro, and SuEllen Estey.
WHAT: PETER PAN
WHERE:THE 360 THEATRE on CITY HALL PLAZA
WHEN:OCTOBER 18-DECEMBER 30
TICKETS: Tickets are available online at www.peterpantheshow.com/boston by phone at 888-PPANTIX (1-888-772-6849) and at the box office on City Hall Plaza
INFO:
More than 500,000 people on two continents have enjoyed this theatrical experience. Conceived by an award-winning creative team and featuring 23 actors, stunning puppets, epic music, dazzling flying sequences performed in the world’s first 360-degree CGI theater set, PETER PAN is an extraordinary experience. The Boston engagement of the timeless masterpiece is presented by threesixty° entertainment.
One of the most striking elements of this new production is the setting in which it is presented. The threesixty° Theatre, a 1,300 seat theater tent, allows for performance “in the round” and stands on City Hall Plaza, Boston.
The entire interior of the tent is lit with more than 15,000 square feet of Hi-Resolution video – three times the size of Imax screens – so that both cast and audience are immersed in a CGI Neverland. When Peter and Wendy fly to Neverland, the audience flies with them over 400 square miles of virtual London and beyond.
threesixty° entertainment, a theatrical production company based in London with Charlie Burnell, Matthew Churchill, and Robert Butters as principals, commissioned a first class creative team to develop this production of PETER PAN. The cast of PETER PAN features members of the original London production joined by American actors, making it a truly international company.
PETER PAN, directed by Ben Harrison and designed by William Dudley, is adapted by Tanya Ronder from the Barrie story, with music composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. Dudley has received more theatre awards and accolades in the United Kingdom than any theatre artist save Judi Dench. Choreography is by Fleur Darkin, sound design by Gregory Clarke, lighting design by Mark Henderson, fight direction by Nicholas Hall, puppetry design by Sue Buckmaster and illusions by Paul Kieve.
About this production of PETER PAN:
12 projectors, delivering 360 degree projection
10 million pixels
15,000 square feet of CGI
400 square miles of virtual London circa 1904 were rendered
The largest surround CGI venue in the world
The world’s first fully 360-degree projected movie for live theater performance
The tent, which stands 100 feet high, was shipped via boat, 6,000 miles from London to San Francisco.
200 computers took four weeks to create the images – it would have taken eight years for a single computer to render
What: Kathleen Turner in HIGH
Where: Cutler Majestic Theatre Boston
When: Dec 6-11
Tickets: (617)824-8000
Psst for a discount, use this code: HIGH20
Here’s a heads up for December. For one week only, Kathleen Turner will be appearing at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in HIGH. The story centers around Sister Jamison Connelly (Turner), who agrees to sponsor a 19 year old drug-user in order to help him deal with his demons. In doing so, Sister Connelly has to face her own. High explores the universal themes of truth, forgiveness and redemption. High contains strong language, mature themes and full male nudity.
BTW, the NewRep did an outstanding job with their last two–woman play “Collected Stories.” Bobbie Steinbach and Liz Hayes give wonderful performances as the mentor and mentee and the dilemma faced when that balance shifts. The NewReps next production is “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher November 27-December 18.h
WHAT: ITZAK PERLMAN, VIOLIN
WHERE: SYMPHONY HALL
WHEN: NOVEMBER 20 at 3 PM
TICKETS: www.celebrityseries.org, by calling CelebrityCharge at (617) 482-6661
INFO:
Celebrity Series of Boston will present violinist Itzhak Perlman in recital.
This marks Itzhak Perlman’s 23rd performance with the Celebrity Series of Boston, with the most recent in 2007. Born in Israel in 1945, violinist Itzhak Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and began his career with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He then joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and in December of 1994 he joined them again for their first visits to China and India. In December 1990, Perlman visited Russia for the second time to participate in a gala performance in Leningrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth. In December 1993, Perlman visited the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to perform in a Dvorák gala concert with
Yo-Yo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Rudolf Firkusny and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
Perlman has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies, at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals, with the St. Paul and New York chamber orchestras, and with the Israel Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. He was Music Advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004, and he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005. He also participates each summer in the Perlman Music Program and teaches at the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.
In fall of 2011, he joins the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas in a gala concert to open their centennial season, and returns to the same orchestra in April 2012 on a play/conduct program. In October 2011, Mr. Perlman will travel to Asia for recitals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau with pianist and frequent collaborator, Rohan De Silva. Other highlights of his 2011-12 season include the gala opening of the new Kaufman Center in Kansas City, Missouri with the Kansas City Symphony, a play/conduct performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and recitals across North America including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and Washington, DC.
Mr. Perlman has been recognized with numerous awards, including four Emmy Awards and
15 Grammy awards. President Reagan granted him a “Medal of Liberty” in 1986, and President Clinton awarded him the “National Medal of Arts” in December 2000. He also took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama and in May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Julliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in 2005.
The program for Itzhak Perlman’s performance is to be determined.
WHAT: APHRODITE & THE GODS OF LOVE
WHERE: MFA BOSTON
WHEN: OCTOBER 26-FEBRUARY 20
TICKETS: www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300.
INFO:
Ancient worshipers had to travel to Mount Olympus in
Greece or to temples in Cyprus to pay homage to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
beauty, but today, devotees can admire the beguiling divinity closer to home at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), in Aphrodite and the Gods of Love.
it is the first museum exhibition of classical
works devoted solely to Aphrodite (known as Venus to the Romans) and her realm—one
that celebrates her likeness as the first female nude in western art history. It features
some 160 extraordinary works from the MFA’s Greek and Roman collection, among the
finest holdings in the United States, and includes 13 important loans—nine from Rome
and Naples.
The museum is a great destination. Make it a habit, you will be glad you did.
once.
Brilliant Arts & Entertainment
The season has heated up and we are in the midst of a cultural cornucopia of arts with ballet, plays, concerts and much more. Here are just a few events that you won’t want to miss.
WHAT: ROMEO AND JULIET BOSTON BALLET
WHERE: OPERA HOUSE HOUSE
WHEN: NOVEMBER 3-13
TICKETS: www.bostonballet.org/ 617.695.6955
INFO:
Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen’s presents John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet. This presentation of Cranko’s masterpiece love story is the second time in the company’s history that this version has been performed. Romeo and Juliet is staged by Jane Bourne.
“Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet is the most satisfying telling of Shakespeare’s story as a ballet,” said Nissinen. “The choreography is a perfect match for Prokofiev’s score and provides all the drama, passion and tragedy of this timeless tale. I know the company will excel in this stunning production and audiences will be swept away by production’s music and choreography.”
Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1962 with the Stuttgart Ballet. Cranko’s exquisitely rendered ballet, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, is an inspired realization of William Shakespeare’s tale. While Prokofiev’s original composition initially faced heavy criticism, it has become one of the most popular of all ballet compositions.
When the Stuttgart Ballet danced the American premiere of John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet in 1969, Clive Barnes wrote in The New York Times that this staging of Prokofiev’s score “is, quite simply, the best of a surprisingly distinguished bunch. Many choreographers have attempted the score, but it has been left to Cranko to give the work its complete fulfillment.” With Romeo and Juliet, Cranko masterfully wove choreography and drama into a seamless whole.
When Boston Ballet premiered the production in 2008, The Boston Globe wrote, “the company’s splendid new production hits jackpot. This one is the whole package – elegant dancing, eye-popping pageantry, and vivid storytelling.” This is the third full-length masterpiece by Cranko in Boston Ballet’s repertoire. The Company danced Onegin in 2002, 1994 and 1997, and The Taming of the Shrew in 2004.
Cranko (1927-1973) choreographed his first production of Romeo and Juliet for La Scala Ballet in 1958, with Carla Fracci as Juliet. In 1962, he restaged and revised the piece for Stuttgart Ballet, where he had been appointed director a year earlier, with Marcia Haydée was Juliet. Other companies that have danced Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet include the National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet (1983). In 1978, the Joffrey Ballet became the first American company to stage the production.
Cranko was born in Rustenberg, South Africa in 1927. He trained at the Cape Town University Ballet School and choreographed his first ballet there in 1945, to the suite from Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. In 1946, he moved to London to study at the Sadler’s Wells School, and was soon offered a place at Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, the precursor of The Royal Ballet. Although Cranko originally joined the company as a dancer, he was named company choreographer within four years, after displaying remarkable talent in the art.
Cranko choreographed ballets for both the Sadler’s Wells and the newly formed Royal Ballet throughout the 1950s. He had become internationally recognized and was in high demand, creating works for the New York City Ballet, the Rambert Company, Paris Opéra Ballet and La Scala in Milan. In 1961 he was appointed director of Stuttgart Ballet.
In 1973, John Cranko died unexpectedly at the age of 46. His brilliant career was cut short at its height. He left behind a repertory of dramatic classical ballets which are now performed internationally.
WHAT: LUCKY STIFF
WHERE: SOMERVILLE THEATRE
WHEN: STARTING NOV 4
TICKETS: www.moonboxproductions.org
INFO: Lucky Stiff, a rollicking musical comedy, comes to the Somerville Theatre for six performances, beginning November 4. From the Tony-Award-winning writing team of Ahrens and Flaherty (Ragtime, Seussical! The Musical and My Favorite Year), Lucky Stiff follows the madcap adventures of hapless shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon, who has inherited a fortune from his long-lost Uncle Tony. The one catch: to collect the money, he has to take his uncle’s corpse on a last spree to Monte Carlo, fighting off a myopic mobster, a mysterious Italian, a furious optometrist, and a dog-loving activist along the way.
Lucky Stiff is the second offering of Cambridge-based Moonbox Productions, which made its debut with Godspell at the Brattle Theatre in April. Boston Herald theater critic Daniel Gewertz called that production, under the direction of Allison Choat, “a minor theatrical miracle,” and a “gutsy” staging that “deserved an ‘Amen.’” Choat, who has worked with the Santa Fe Opera, Oberlin Conservatory, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Boston Stage Company, returns as director for Lucky Stiff.
The spirited cast includes Matthew Zahnzinger, Joelle Kross, Ryan Edlinger, Sierra Kagen and Equity Actor Robert D. Murphy, as well as a talented ensemble of stuffy solicitors, evil landladies, showgirls, lepers, nuns, and last but not least, the corpse of Uncle Tony. With slamming doors, mistaken identities and toe-tapping hilarity, Lucky Stiff has and flaunts it all. Kudos for the play include a Richard Rodgers Award and a Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical.
WHAT: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
WHERE: SHUBERT THEATRE
WHEN: DECEMBER 5-18
TICKETS: (866)523-7469
INFO: Jerry Herman out did himself with La Cage. It was recently revived on Broadway with Kelsey Grammer. This musical stands up no matter how you produce it. The songs “I AM WHAT I AM,” “SONG ON THE SAND,” and “THE BEST OF TIMES IS NOW,”
has one hit after another.
The ever-tanned George Hamilton plays George in La Cage Aux Folles.
The show tells the story of Georges (Hamilton) the owner of a glitzy nightclub in lovely Saint-Tropez, and his partner Albin (Sieber), who moonlights as the glamorous chanteuse Zaza. When Georges’ son brings his fiancée’s conservative parents home to meet the flashy pair, the bonds of family are put to the test as the feather boas fly! LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is a tuneful and touching tale of one family’s struggle to stay together… stay fabulous… and above all else, stay true to themselves!
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES recently made Tony Awards history as the first show to ever win the Tony Award three times for best production. The classic musical comedy by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein originally won six Tony Awards in 1984, including Best Musical. A Broadway revival won two 2005 Tony Awards including the Best Revival of a Musical prize. The new, freshly reconceived
LA CAGE won three 2010 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson).
The production is also the winner of three Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical (Terry Johnson) and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES features music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play by Jean Poiret.
Shorter, Jr., Trevor Downey, Logan Keslar, Terry Lavell, Todd Thurston, Todd Lattimore, Christophe Caballerro, and SuEllen Estey.
WHAT: PETER PAN
WHERE:THE 360 THEATRE on CITY HALL PLAZA
WHEN:OCTOBER 18-DECEMBER 30
TICKETS: Tickets are available online at www.peterpantheshow.com/boston by phone at 888-PPANTIX (1-888-772-6849) and at the box office on City Hall Plaza
INFO:
More than 500,000 people on two continents have enjoyed this theatrical experience. Conceived by an award-winning creative team and featuring 23 actors, stunning puppets, epic music, dazzling flying sequences performed in the world’s first 360-degree CGI theater set, PETER PAN is an extraordinary experience. The Boston engagement of the timeless masterpiece is presented by threesixty° entertainment.
One of the most striking elements of this new production is the setting in which it is presented. The threesixty° Theatre, a 1,300 seat theater tent, allows for performance “in the round” and stands on City Hall Plaza, Boston.
The entire interior of the tent is lit with more than 15,000 square feet of Hi-Resolution video – three times the size of Imax screens – so that both cast and audience are immersed in a CGI Neverland. When Peter and Wendy fly to Neverland, the audience flies with them over 400 square miles of virtual London and beyond.
threesixty° entertainment, a theatrical production company based in London with Charlie Burnell, Matthew Churchill, and Robert Butters as principals, commissioned a first class creative team to develop this production of PETER PAN. The cast of PETER PAN features members of the original London production joined by American actors, making it a truly international company.
PETER PAN, directed by Ben Harrison and designed by William Dudley, is adapted by Tanya Ronder from the Barrie story, with music composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. Dudley has received more theatre awards and accolades in the United Kingdom than any theatre artist save Judi Dench. Choreography is by Fleur Darkin, sound design by Gregory Clarke, lighting design by Mark Henderson, fight direction by Nicholas Hall, puppetry design by Sue Buckmaster and illusions by Paul Kieve.
About this production of PETER PAN:
12 projectors, delivering 360 degree projection
10 million pixels
15,000 square feet of CGI
400 square miles of virtual London circa 1904 were rendered
The largest surround CGI venue in the world
The world’s first fully 360-degree projected movie for live theater performance
The tent, which stands 100 feet high, was shipped via boat, 6,000 miles from London to San Francisco.
200 computers took four weeks to create the images – it would have taken eight years for a single computer to render
What: Kathleen Turner in HIGH
Where: Cutler Majestic Theatre Boston
When: Dec 6-11
Tickets: (617)824-8000
Psst for a discount, use this code: HIGH20
Here’s a heads up for December. For one week only, Kathleen Turner will be appearing at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in HIGH. The story centers around Sister Jamison Connelly (Turner), who agrees to sponsor a 19 year old drug-user in order to help him deal with his demons. In doing so, Sister Connelly has to face her own. High explores the universal themes of truth, forgiveness and redemption. High contains strong language, mature themes and full male nudity.
BTW, the NewRep did an outstanding job with their last two–woman play “Collected Stories.” Bobbie Steinbach and Liz Hayes give wonderful performances as the mentor and mentee and the dilemma faced when that balance shifts. The NewReps next production is “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher November 27-December 18.h
WHAT: ITZAK PERLMAN, VIOLIN
WHERE: SYMPHONY HALL
WHEN: NOVEMBER 20 at 3 PM
TICKETS: www.celebrityseries.org, by calling CelebrityCharge at (617) 482-6661
INFO:
Celebrity Series of Boston will present violinist Itzhak Perlman in recital.
This marks Itzhak Perlman’s 23rd performance with the Celebrity Series of Boston, with the most recent in 2007. Born in Israel in 1945, violinist Itzhak Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and began his career with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He then joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and in December of 1994 he joined them again for their first visits to China and India. In December 1990, Perlman visited Russia for the second time to participate in a gala performance in Leningrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth. In December 1993, Perlman visited the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to perform in a Dvorák gala concert with
Yo-Yo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Rudolf Firkusny and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.
Perlman has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies, at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals, with the St. Paul and New York chamber orchestras, and with the Israel Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. He was Music Advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004, and he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005. He also participates each summer in the Perlman Music Program and teaches at the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair.
In fall of 2011, he joins the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall under Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas in a gala concert to open their centennial season, and returns to the same orchestra in April 2012 on a play/conduct program. In October 2011, Mr. Perlman will travel to Asia for recitals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau with pianist and frequent collaborator, Rohan De Silva. Other highlights of his 2011-12 season include the gala opening of the new Kaufman Center in Kansas City, Missouri with the Kansas City Symphony, a play/conduct performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and recitals across North America including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and Washington, DC.
Mr. Perlman has been recognized with numerous awards, including four Emmy Awards and
15 Grammy awards. President Reagan granted him a “Medal of Liberty” in 1986, and President Clinton awarded him the “National Medal of Arts” in December 2000. He also took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama and in May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Julliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in 2005.
The program for Itzhak Perlman’s performance is to be determined.
WHAT: APHRODITE & THE GODS OF LOVE
WHERE: MFA BOSTON
WHEN: OCTOBER 26-FEBRUARY 20
TICKETS: www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300.
INFO:
Ancient worshipers had to travel to Mount Olympus in
Greece or to temples in Cyprus to pay homage to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
beauty, but today, devotees can admire the beguiling divinity closer to home at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), in Aphrodite and the Gods of Love.
it is the first museum exhibition of classical
works devoted solely to Aphrodite (known as Venus to the Romans) and her realm—one
that celebrates her likeness as the first female nude in western art history. It features
some 160 extraordinary works from the MFA’s Greek and Roman collection, among the
finest holdings in the United States, and includes 13 important loans—nine from Rome
and Naples.
The museum is a great destination. Make it a habit, you will be glad you did.
once.
OCTOBER 2011
BRILLIANT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
As promised, I am going to give you a thumbnail review of the Tony Award-Winning musical THE BOOK OF MORMON on Broadway. Now here’s a recommendation that you can bank on. “Charlie Sheen was at Book of Mormon last night and he loved the show!” If that doesn’t give you a clue as to how outrageous it was, then I don’t know what does. Sitting right near me were actor Jeff Goldblum ( Jurrassic Park) and Nigel Lythgoe(judge on So You Think You Can Dance). Enough about celeb sightings.
I knew that the musical was written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are the first time Broadway writers who are entering their 15th season as the creators of the no holds-barred TV series South Park. That said, I was not surprised at the total irreverence and fun. Cast members Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Nikki M. James and Rory O’Malley were perfect. Their comedic timing was flawless and they embodied the caricatures (I did not make a typo) perfectly. However, what the authors wanted was a subject that no one had made fun of yet. What I came away with, after I stopped laughing, was a serious thought. No matter how preposterous a religion is, it can unite people and give them the support and power that they otherwise would not have. Who would have guessed?
I was lucky enough to get tickets before Mormon swept the Tonys so I paid the normal seat price. Now premium orchestra tickets can go for $350 but if you are willing to wait, you can still get the eats at face value. Mitt, stay home.
WHAT: BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA WHERE: BOSTON OPERA HOUSE
WHEN; SEE BELOW
TICKETS: 866 523-7469
SOUTH PACIFIC runs through Oct 2 then in December look for Jerry Herman’s fabulous LA CAGE AUX FOLLES with George Hamilton. There season continues with American Idiot, Les Miz, The Adams Family, Riverdance, Beauty and the Beast, Mama Mia and much more
WHAT: NEXT FALL
WHERE: SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY
WHEN: though OCT 15
TICKETS:617 933 8600
“The funniest heartbreaker in town” – NY Times
A 2010 Tony nominee for Best Play, Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. Luke, a devout Christian, and Adam, a non-believer, have been together for four years; yet spiritual differences continue to spark trouble in their relationship. A sudden twist of fate, however, changes everything in this compelling new play that looks at what it means to ‘believe’ and what it might cost us not to.
The Speakeasy has been giving us one top-notch play after another. Here are some future listings to put on your calendar.
The Divine Sister
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Roberts Studio Theatre
10/21/2011 – 11/19/2011
Sorry, Wrong Number 2011!
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Roberts Studio Theatre
11/7/2011 – 11/8/2011
Red
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Wimberly Theatre
1/6/2012 – 2/4/2012
Next to Normal
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Roberts Studio Theatre
3/9/2012 – 4/7/2012
WHAT: The Boston Symphony Orchestra offers various affordable ticket options for patrons in every age group for the 2011-12 season. Patrons of all ages can take advantage of BSO Rush Tickets, $9, and the BSO open rehearsal tickets, $20.
WHERE: SYMPHONY HALL
WHEN: SEE BELOW
TICKETS: Tickets may be purchased one through the BSO’s website (www.bso.org), by phone through SymphonyCharge (617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200), or in person at the Symphony Hall Box Office (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston). are not
BSO Rush Tickets
BSO Rush Tickets enable concert-goers of all ages to enjoy a performance at Symphony Hall by the BSO for only $9 per ticket. A limited number of Rush Tickets for Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and Friday afternoons are set aside to be sold on the day of the performance. Rush Tickets are limited to one per customer, and must be paid for with cash only. Rush tickets are available at the BSO Box Office on Massachusetts Avenue beginning at 5 p.m. for Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evening concerts, and 10 a.m. for Friday afternoon concerts.
Open Rehearsal Tickets
Tickets to Open Rehearsals are priced at $20 for general admittance with open seating. Open rehearsals give patrons a unique, behind-the-scenes performance experience. Because these are working rehearsals, patrons may experience interactions between the conductor, soloist, and orchestra throughout the performance, as well as more in-depth rehearsal of particular passages of the music that the conductor considers requiring more refinement.
All programs and artists are subject to change. For more information or to purchase a College Card, Young
Patrons with disabilities can access Symphony Hall through the Massachusetts Avenue lobby or the Cohen Wing on Huntington Avenue. An access service center, accessible restrooms, and elevators are available inside the Cohen Wing entrance. For ticket information, call the Access Services Administrator at 617-638-9431 or TDD/TTY 617-638-9289.
What: Boston Lyric Opera presents the Signature Series in partnership with the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA).
WHERE:Remis Auditorium MFA
WHEN: See below
These provocative overtures take place at
the MFA and employ a variety of art forms including film, visual arts, theater and music
to highlight a theme in the operas of the season. All presentations begin at 2pm in Remis
Auditorium at the MFA and are followed by the Signature Reception*
in the MFA’s Bravo Restaurant. Mingle with the performers and enjoy cocktails and
hors d’oeuvres at these lively afternoon affairs.
WHAT: CELTIC MUSIC
WHERE; BLUE OCEAN MUSIC HALL, SALISBURY
WHEN. THURSDAY OCT 6 @ 8 PM
If you enjoy Celtic music from the Canadian Maritimes fused with contemporary rock and folk sensibilities, you’ll want to make plans to see Séan McCann & the Committed
WHAT: BOSTON BALLET LAUNCHES DESIGN IN MOTION
IN COLLABORATION WITH
SCHOOL OF FASHION DESIGN
STUDENT DESIGNERS CREATE BALLET-INSPIRED COUTURE
WINNER RECEIVES INTERNSHIP WITH BOSTON BALLET COSTUME SHOP
Boston Ballet announced today Design in Motion, a project in collaboration with the School of Fashion Design in Boston, to foster young talent and bring together art and style opportunities for Boston’s fashion students. Design in Motion will be a forum for students of the School of Fashion Design to create ballet-inspired couture with the hopes of winning a coveted internship with Boston Ballet’s Costume Shop. The project will run from Boston Fashion Week 2011 through January of 2012.
“Part of Boston Ballet’s mission is to create space to foster young artists,” said Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. “I’m so pleased to begin this project with the School of Fashion Design, and provide young designers with a chance to be inspired by the art form of ballet and showcase their individual talents to new audiences.”
“This project is an ideal example of ‘Boston Fashion is Smart,’ a message we’ve been promoting through our efforts to build strong creative relationships between fashion and the arts. I’m so glad to see it being introduced during Boston Fashion Week,” said Jay Calderin, Founder & Executive Director of Boston Fashion Week.
For more information about Boston Ballet’s Design in Motion project and how to participate please visit: www.bostonballet.org/designinmotion
2011-2012 Season Tickets
Subscriptions, Group Sales tickets, and individual tickets for The Nutcracker are on sale now.
Subscriptions and individual tickets are available online 24 hours a day at www.bostonballet.org, by phone at 617.695.6955, and in person at the box office at 19 Clarendon Street, Boston, Mon–Fri, 9:30am-5pm. Tickets start at $25 for season ballets and $35 for Night of Stars and The Nutcracker. Group Sales tickets for parties of 10 or more are available through the box office at 617.695.6955.
WHAT: BUDDY COP 2
WHERE: STONEHAM THEATRE
WHEN; OCT 20-NOV 6
TICKETS: 781-279-2200
Buddy Cop 2 was written by The Debate Society, in association with the Ontological Theater; directed by Weylin Symes. Performances run October 20-November 6: Thurs. (7:30 pm), Fri. (8 pm), Sat. (3 pm & 8 pm), Sun. (2 pm). Senior discounts. Special pay-what-you-can performances every Thursday of the run.] Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street, Stoneham. Wheelchair accessible. For advance tickets and information, visit or call the Box Office at 781-279-2200 (hours Tues.–Sat., 1–6pm) or log onto www.stonehamtheatre.org. Brooklyn-based The Debate Society – otherwise known as Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Oliver Butler – had their hands full when in the Spring of 2010, their new Buddy Cop 2 production, developed in collaboration with the Ontological Theater, opened to rave reviews. With lines waiting to get in, one can only wonder: why would New York City slickers crave to catch a play about some small town police officers making do in Shandon, Indiana? Midwest cops work up a big sweat playing on-the-job racquetball while coordinating special Christmas arrangements for a local dying girl’s final wish. What would prompt citified “devised theatre” practitioners to zero in on such a hokey premise? For one thing, Shandon, Indiana is definitely not Mayberry. Set in a recreation center turned police station (it’s been like that for a few years!), Buddy Cop 2 keeps the audience bouncing around a plot that is in a perpetual state of unease, with quirky twists and turns that end up leaving everyone hanging. There’s mystery, flirtation, guffaws, compassion, Christmas spilling over into the new year, and a dark cloud looming overhead, that very much sounds like a helicopter. And sweat, lots of sweat. In true collaborative fashion, The Debate Society will be on hand in Stoneham during the first week of production. When asked how Buddy Cop 2 came to be born and to fascinate audiences, Paul Thureen replies that “Oliver [Butler] had wanted to do an athletic racquetball play, Hannah [Bos] had wanted to do an 80’s cop play and I had wanted to do a super sad Christmas play. For a long time we thought those would be three different plays.” Oliver Butler then chimes in: “With us, it’s not like everything has to be equal parts or that this was some kind of democratic compromise . . . it just hit us all that THIS was the way these ideas needed to come together.” “…and make a baby,” Hannah Bos adds. Stoneham Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes directs the New England premiere of this madcap piece, which features Melissa Baroni (as Officer Darlene Novak) and Paul Richard Yarborough (as Officer Terry Olsen) who occupy this racquetball court-ish police station over 90% of the time. Jerry Bisantz (as Officer Don McMurchie) and Emily Sheeran (who doubles as the dying Skylar and Brandi, the Governor’s daughter) round out the cast. The Debate Society is excited about making the trek to spend a week in Massachusetts, since Stoneham Theatre is only the second professional U.S. company outside of New York City to dare tackle their off-kilter play.
WHAT: Scullers fall events
WHERE: SCULLERS
WHEN: See Below
TICKETS: 617.562.4111
info@scullersjazz.com
October:
– FriSat. 31/1, Eliane Elias, Grammy award nominee, Brazilian pianist/singer/composer/arranger, www.elianeelias.com , (Show $30, Dinner & Show $72)
– Sun. 2, Take 6, A cappella jazz group, Multiple GRAMMY winners from Alabama, www.take6.com, (Show $40, Dinner & Show $82)
– Tue. 4, Melissa Morgan, Jazz/Latin, www.myspace.com/melissamorganjazz , (Show $20, Dinner & Show $62), 8pm only
– Wed. 5, Bill Banfield’s Jazz Urbane, Jazz composer, educator, musical director, Featuring Grace Kelly, www.billbanfield.com, www.gracekellymusic.com , (Show $20 , Dinner & Show $62), 8pm only
– Thu. 6, Sammy Figueroa & the Latin Jazz Explosion, new CD for this master percussionist, www.sammyfigueroa.com , (Show $25, Dinner & Show $67)
– FriSat. 7/8, Marlena Shaw & the David Hazeltine Trio (Guest: Elan Trotman), Jazz, www.berkeleyagency.com/blues/marlena,shaw.htm , www.davidhazeltine.com , (Show $30, Dinner & Show $72)
– Tue. 11, Neha, NEC student/Jazz vocalist www.nehamusic.com , (Show $15, Dinner & Show $57) , 8pm only
– Wed. 12, Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet www.jasonmarsalis.com , (Show $22, Dinner & Show $64) , 8pm only
– Thu. 13, Jesse Harris , Producer and solo artist www.jesseharrismusic.com , (Show $20, Dinner & Show $62) , 8pm only
– FriSat.14/15, Hiromi: The Trio Project, Jazz/improvisation pianist, composer www.hiromimusic.com , (Show $35, Dinner & Show $77)
– TueWed.18/19, Average White Band, soul and funk www.averagewhiteband.com , (Show $25, Dinner & Show $67)
– Thu. 20, Amanda Carr & Le Crème De Les Femme www.amandacarr.com , (Show $22, Dinner & Show $64) , 8pm only
– FriSat. 21/22, Sax Pack (Featuring Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters & Steve Cole) www.thesaxpack.com , (Show $38, Dinner & Show $80)
November:
– Wed. 2, The Laszlo Gardony Quartet, New CD, Jazz pianist/composer, Featuring Stan Strickland (saxophone, vocals, kalimba, flute, bass clarinet), John Lockwood (bass), Yoron Israel (drums) www.lgjazz.com , (Show $18, student $10, Dinner & Show $60) , 8pm only
– Thu. 3, Sultans Of String, New CD, World/Jazz/Flamenco, www.sultansofstring.com, (Show $20, Dinner & Show $62), 8pm only
– FriSat. 4/5, Acoustic Alchemy, New CD , Roseland www.acoustic,alchemy.net , (Show $30, Dinner & Show $72)
– Wed. 9, Hilary Kole , New CD , Jazz vocalist www.hilarykole.com , (Show $22, Dinner & Show $64) , 8pm only
– Thu. 10, 3 Cohens Sextet , Jazz , Featuring siblings Yuval, Anat, and Avishai Cohen. www.3cohens.com , (Show $22, Dinner & Show $64) , 8pm only
– SatSun. 12/13, Arturo Sandoval , Latin/Jazz Trumpet Master www.arturosandoval.com , (Show $40, Dinner & Show $82)
– Wed. 16, Stanley Jordan , New CD , Composer, Jazz/Jazz Fusion (guitar and piano) www.stanleyjordan.com , (Show $25, Dinner & Show $67)
– Thu. 17, Yoko Miwa – Boston based jazz pianist www.yokomiwa.com , (Show $20, Dinner & Show $62) , 8pm only
– Sat. 18/19, Spyro Gyra, New CD , Jazz fusion www.spyrogyra.com , (Show $40, Dinner & Show $82)
– Tue. 22, Carol O’Shaughnessy – “Boston’s hottest singer, actress and all,around funny lady”www.ocarolo.com , (Show $23, Dinner & Show $65) , 8pm only
– FriSat. 25/26, Roy Hargrove , trumpeter extraordinaire www.vervemusicgroup.com/royhargrove , (Show $35, Dinner & Show $77)
– TueWed.29/30, Joe Lovano/Dave Douglas www.joelovano.com/ www.greenleafmusic.com , (Show $25, Dinner & Show $67)
December:
– Thu.1, The Juanito Pascual New Flamenco Trio , Flamenco Guitar / World featuring Haggai Cohen Milo (acoustic base) and Tupac Mantilla (percussion) www.juanitopascual.com (Show $25, $10 students, Dinner & Show $67)
– TueWed. 6/7, A Peter White Christmas , feat. Kirk Whalum & Mindi Abair, www.peterwhite.com www.kirkwhalum.com www.mindiabair.com (Show $40, Dinner & Show $82)
– Thu. 8, Bobbi Carrey & Will McMillan , New take on cabaret, www.bobbicarrey.com , (Show $22, Dinner & Show $64)
– FriSatSun. 9/10/11, Esperanza Spalding , Best new artist Grammy award winner , singer/bassist/composer , featuring Terri Lynn Carrington and Geri Allen www.esperanzaspalding.com , (Show $30, Dinner & Show $72)
Mon. 12 to Wed. 28, Scullers will be closed for our winter break
– Thu. 29, Christian McBride & Inside Straight , Bassist extraordinaire, composer, arranger, educator, www.christianmcbride.com, (Show $28. Dinner & Show $70)
– Sat. 31, New Years with Christian McBride & Inside Straight (8pm Show $100 per couple, Dinner & Show $309 per couple/ 11pm Show $120 per couple, Dinner & Show with champagne toast etc. $379 per couple)
Hopefully the previous listings will keep you busy and happy until we meet again.
It’s not too late to subscribe! Subscriptions as low as $96.
Single tickets to Macbeth, The Barber of Seville, and The Inspector are on sale now through the Citi Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $32.
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OFFERS A VARIETY OF AFFORDABLE TICKET OPTIONS FOR EVERY AGE GROUP
Brilliant Arts & Entertainment
This month has something old, “Porgy and Bess,” something new, the Modern Theatre at Suffolk University, something borrowed, Degas and the Nude some borrowed from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and something Brustein, as in Robert Brustein’s Mortal Terror . OK it’s a stretch.. so sue me.
WHAT: MORTAL TERROR
WHERE: MODERN THEATRE AT SUFFOLK
WHEN: SEPT 15 – OCT 2
TICKETS: 866-811-4111 or www.moderntheatre.com.
William Shakespeare, trapped by political intrigue, violence and betrayal, is coerced by King James to create the ultimate instrument of propaganda: Macbeth.
Mortal Terror is the second in a trilogy of plays about the life and work of Shakespeare by Robert Brustein, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Suffolk University and recent National Medal of Arts recipient.
OTHER WORKS THIS SEASON INCLUDE:
SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICA Robert Brustein Presents: OSKAR EUSTIS and JENNY GERSTEN 6 p.m. Friday, September 23 Inspired by our production of Mortal Terror, Robert Brustein discusses the future of Shakespeare production in America with the artistic directors of two of the country’s foremost theatre companies: Oskar Eustis of New York’s Public Theater, and Jenny Gersten of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. CHRISTOPHER DURANG: A Conversation with the Playwright 7 p.m. Thursday, October 6 The Suffolk University Theatre Department welcomes acclaimed playwright and actor Christopher Durang for a conversation with Robert Brustein. Durang’s plays have been produced on and off Broadway as well as nationally and internationally. He is an Obie and Tony award winner as well as a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
A CELEBRATION OF DAVID FERRY 7 p.m. Thursday, December 1 The Suffolk University literary community, along with Boston writers, celebrate the life and work of acclaimed poet David Ferry, known for five books of his own poetry and acclaimed translations of the Gilgamesh epic, Horace and Virgil including his most recent translation of Virgil’s Aeneid.
Cinema: THE JAZZ SINGER co-produced with the Boston Preservation Alliance 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 18 In 1928 the Modern Theatre was the first Boston movie house to premiere The Jazz Singer, Hollywood’s breakthrough “talkie.” Suffolk University and Boston Preservation Alliance team up to showcase this classic film as we celebrate the first anniversary of the restored Modern Theatre.
DEAD RECKONING – CHAMPLAIN IN AMERICA Film and conversation with FRANK CHRISTOPHER 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 25 Frank Christopher is an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-award-winning documentary filmmaker. His film Dead Reckoning – Champlain in America is a fully animated, historical account of Samuel de Champlain’s exploration of North America.
SHAKESPEARE ON FILM: MACBETH Date TBD Audiences who might want a refresher on Macbeth before attending Robert Brustein’s Mortal Terror in September have the perfect opportunity to see Roman Polanski’s classic film on the Modern’s big screen.
—-
The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University is the newest performance space in the Washington Street Theater District. The grand facade of the historic theater, Boston’s first designed specifically for showing movies, has been painstakingly restored and reconstructed as part of the Modern Theatre and residence hall development. Inside, an intimate jewel-box theater showcases central design elements that are a modernization of some of the most distinctive historic features of the 1914 theater. The state-of-the-art, 185-seat venue is ideal for live performances, conversations, readings and film screenings and will promote excellence and innovation through all of its programming. For more about these and other programs at the Modern visit: www.moderntheatre.com.
WHAT: CANDIDE
WHERE: HUNTINGTON THEATRE
BU Theatre / Avenue of the Arts
WHEN: SEPT 10- OCT 16
TICKETS: 617 266 0800 to purchase.
Leonard Bernstein’s soaring score and lyrics from some of the wittiest writers of all time in a new production directed by the Tony Award-winning Mary Zimmerman.This production is sure to glitter and be gay.
WHAT: DEGAS AND THE NUDE
WHERE: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
WHEN: October
TICKETS: BOX OFFICE/ ON LINE/
Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Degas and the Nude (October 9, 2011, through February 5, 2012) will explore Edgar Degas’s evocative depictions of the human form throughout his 50-year career, from academic studies, to overtly sexual imagery, to scenes of daily life. These will be shown within the broader context of the artist’s forebears, contemporaries, and followers in 19th-century France. This monumental exhibition features works from more than 50 lenders around the world, including a record number from the Orsay. Additional highlights:
First time that Degas’s nudes will be the exclusive subject of a museum exhibition
MFA, Boston, is the only U.S. venue
Approximately 165 works – 145 by Degas – will be on view, many of which have never been seen in the U.S.
Exhibition reunites several of Degas’s black-and-white monotypes with the corresponding pastel “twins” for the first time since they left the artist’s studio
Other works on view include masterpieces by Picasso, Matisse, Delacroix, and Ingres.
GAN-e-meed Theatre Project’s second full production season challenges audiences with world premieres, unexpected stories, and honest explorations while continuing their successful and innovative Career Labs which inspire and support Women in Theatre.
December 2011 features the Not A Box New Play Festival which includes the rousing conclusion of last year’s 1-Page Play Experiment, the finalists for this year’s Experiment, the Boston premiere of Obehi Janice’s solo show fufu & oreos, and a Mystery Artist at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. Following in April and May 2012 is Julie Jenson’s Two-Headed, an exploration of the friendship of two Mormon women in 1800s Utah, to be performed at the Boston Center for the Arts and on tour throughout New England.
The successful Career Labs, a series of workshops and panel discussions continues in 2011-12 with Balancing Act: the Work-Life Continuum on September 12; Perfecting Your Pitch on November 8; Negotiation for Women in Theatre in April 2012; and Building Your Community and Network on June 3, 2012. Co-sponsored by StageSource, all Career Labs are generously hosted by the Boston Center for the Arts. Further networking opportunities will be available during the oft-demanded Women in Theatre Networking Nights, beginning in October.
“At GAN-e-meed, we go out of our way to find women who are passionate about a project and work with them to make it a success,” says SerahRose Roth, GAN-e-meed’s Executive Artistic Director. “I am overjoyed to continue our work of advancing the role of women in theatre by supporting both up-and-coming artists who are redefining theatre in their own words and established professionals who want more. It is their passion and dedication that makes GAN-e-meed thrive. Given the thrill of our inaugural season, I love knowing that this second season is going to be just as awe-inspiring, if not more so.”
A weekend of new works, Not A Box features an inspiring mix of unexpected, thought-provoking, frequently humorous, and often poignant Boston and World Premieres.
The Boston Premiere of fufu & oreos a semi-autobiographical solo play by rising theatre artist Obehi Janice will be performed along with the second annual 1-Page Play Experiment, the culmination of an artistic challenge: to create a work of textual, performance and visual art on a single piece of paper. The five winners from the first Experiment, as voted by audiences who viewed the visual art and staged readings in December 2010, will be performed as one act of the evening, sharing the bill with “fufu & oreos.” GAN-e-meed welcomes back directors Melanie Garber, Jen Alison Lewis, and Dawn Simmons for the 1-Page Play Experiment. 1-Page Play submissions are now open for the second experiment, whose 15 finalists will be on display during the festival and will receive a staged reading on December 3 at 2pm. For information about submitting a play, please visit www.ganemeed.org/submit-a-play
Two-Headed by Julie Jenson follows the story of two Mormon women in the 1800s. The audience visits their developing relationship episodically over the course of 40 years, watching as they find their place in an increasingly complicated, challenging, and patriarchic family life. Directed by Rebecca Webber (last seen with GAN-e-meed as Horatio in Hamlet, featuring an all-female cast) and featuring actresses Kara Manson and SerahRose Roth (last appearing as the title role in Hamlet), Two-Headed will tour New England in April of 2012, finally landing at The Boston Center for the Arts in May. Two-Headed is available to perform in schools and community centers. Please contact SerahRose Roth, Executive Director, for more information: info@ganemeed.org
Balancing gender inequity in theatre employment plays an essential role in GAN-e-meed’s mission. The Career Labs, a quarterly workshop series, offers women in theatre tangible, essential learning opportunities to advance their careers, create networking opportunities, and develop skill sets. The Career Labs addresses topics vital to all theatre professionals. This season’s Labs include Balancing Act: The Work/Life Continuum (featuring panelists Veronique Le Melle of the BCA, Jennie Israel of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Ilana Brownstein of Playwights’ Commons, Julie Otis of SpeakEasy Theatre and moderator Julie Hennrikus of StageSource), Perfecting Your Pitch (featuring guest speaker Robbie Samuels), Negotiation for Women in Theatre, and Building Your Community & Network.
The Career Labs 2011-2012 season is co-produced with StageSource and generously hosted by the Boston Center for the Arts.
GAN-e-meed Theatre Project is a mission-driven non-profit theatre company that advances the role of women in theatre. GAN-e-meed supports their mission through a production season of relevant plays, networking nights for women in theatre, and The Career Labs, a series of workshops supporting the unique challenges, skill-sets, and successes of women in theatre.
SerahRose Roth (Executive Artistic Director and Founding Board Member) is a passionate producer, director and educator, holistically mentoring young and old artists alike. She is a consultant for the inclusion of theatre education in the early childhood classroom. She has presented her early childhood pedagogy, PictureBook Plays, at the annual conferences for the National Association for the Education of the Young Child and Southern Early Childhood Association. She has developed and taught innovative educational programs for a variety of ages at New Repertory Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Yellow Taxi Productions, Boston Children’s Museum, and Chicago Children’s Museum. Directing credits include Hamlet (Newton South & North High Schools), Silence and Lucy Dreaming (GAN-e-meed), Electra (Newton South High School), Inherit the Wind and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Littleton High School). Acting credits include the title role in Hamlet (GAN-e-meed), Ophelia in Hamlet (First Folio Shakespeare and The Theatre Co-Op), Liz Mordan in Our Country’s Good (The Theatre Co-Op), Aerosmith in Frodo-A-Go-Go: The Rings Recycled (The Free Associates), Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest (Penobscot Theatre), and Thomasina Coverly in Arcadia (Brandeis University). SerahRose holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University, an advanced certificate from Boston University’s Institute for Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and particularly enjoys working with high school students as they discover the joys of speaking Shakespeare. She is the proud mother of a kindergartner who also loves the arts.
I’ll be seeing the Tony Award Winning musical BOOK OF MORMON in a couple of weeks and I’ll give you my thoughts on whether you should run to NY and get tickets. I saw Pricilla Queen of the Desert ( Bette Midler is one of the producers) It is a fun camp show with all the old songs that we danced to. The costumes are out of this world, literally. For a fun evening where you can sit back and not use any brain cells, this one’s for you. Sheer fun!
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Presents the Groundbreaking exhibition Degas and the Nude in October
Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Degas and the Nude (October 9, 2011, through February 5, 2012) will explore Edgar Degas’s evocative depictions of the human form throughout his 50-year career, from academic studies, to overtly sexual imagery, to scenes of daily life. These will be shown within the broader context of the artist’s forebears, contemporaries, and followers in 19th-century France. This monumental exhibition features works from more than 50 lenders around the world, including a record number from the Orsay. Additional highlights:
First time that Degas’s nudes will be the exclusive subject of a museum exhibition
MFA, Boston, is the only U.S. venue
Approximately 165 works – 145 by Degas – will be on view, many of which have never been seen in the U.S.
Exhibition reunites several of Degas’s black-and-white monotypes with the corresponding pastel “twins” for the first time since they left the artist’s studio
Other works on view include masterpieces by Picasso, Matisse, Delacroix, and Ingres.
Audra McDonald In Concert
Single Tickets On Sale Now!
Don’t miss your chance to see 4-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer, Audra McDonald, in concert. With her lush vocal power and enchanting stage presence, Audra McDonald will thrill you with her effortless brilliance!
Single tickets now on sale: $83-35
Purchase online or call (866) 266-1200
“McDonald can do most anything, from the tongue-twisting patter of Frank Loesser’s ‘Can’t Stop Talking’ (a Betty Hutton specialty), to a turn at the piano, accompanying herself on Adam Guettel’s ‘Migratory V’…Like Sondheim, McDonald does amazing things by often seeming to do very little at all.”
— Boston Globe
WHAT: SOUTH PACIFIC
WHERE: BOSTON OPERA HOUSE
WHEN: SEPT 27-OCTOBER 2
TICKETS: 800 982 2787
Get Tickets to 2008 Tony Award®-winning
Lincoln Center Theater production of SOUTH PACIFIC!
September 27- October 2
Boston Opera House
”Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!” hails the New York Post for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC.
This breathtaking new production of SOUTH PACIFIC is based on the 2008 Tony Award®-winning Lincoln Center Theater production directed by Bartlett Sher. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices. The beloved score’s songs include “Some Enchanted Evening,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” “This Nearly Was Mine,” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” USA Today cheers, “FOUR STARS! Gorgeous! SOUTH PACIFIC doesn’t just float; it soars!” Tickets start at $33!
NEW ADAPTATION OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S RARELY-PRODUCED “CANDIDE” BY TONY AWARD WINNER MARY ZIMMERMAN BEGINS
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY’S 30TH SEASON ON SEPTEMBER 10
WHAT: Huntington Theatre Company begins 30th Anniversary Season with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, directed and newly adapted from the Voltaire by Mary Zimmerman.
WHEN: September 10 – October 16, 2011
Evenings: Tues. – Thurs. at 7:30pm; Fri. – Sat. at 8pm; Select Sun. at 7pm
Matinees: Select Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2pm
Days and times vary; see complete schedule at end of release.
WHERE: Boston University Theatre – 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
TICKETS: Single tickets, starting at $25, and subscriptions available:
online at huntingtontheatre.org;
by phone at 617 266 0800, or
in person at the BU Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Ave. or the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA Box Office, 527 Tremont St. in Boston’s South End.
$5 off: senior and military
$10 Subscriber and BU Community discounts
$25 “35 Below” tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required)
$15 student rush seats (available 2 hrs. before curtain time for each performance; valid ID required)
(Boston) – The award-winning hit production of Candide that sold out in Chicago and Washington, DC comes to the Huntington Theatre Company in September to kick off its 30th Anniversary Season. Tony Award and MacArthur “Genius” winner Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses on Broadway, Journey to the West and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Huntington) helms the production, for which she has newly adapted the book from Voltaire’s text. Doug Peck offers music direction of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved score, featuring nearly 30 songs. The ambitious production, featuring an award-winning cast of 19 and a live orchestra of 14 musicians, recreates Voltaire’s satirical story of Candide (Geoff Packard, Helen Hayes Award winner for his portrayal), a young optimist shipwrecked, soldiered, swindled, and separated repeatedly from his true love, Cunegonde (Lauren Molina, Helen Hayes award winner for her portrayal). Variety calls this production, “The best of all possible Candides!”
“Candide is exquisite entertainment — a blend of opera, comedy, travel, adventure, and romance,” says Zimmerman, whose major revival has been made using her signature style of collaboration with her company and creative team. The quick-paced story follows the young Candide, living on his Baron uncle’s manor estate and studying the philosophy of Dr. Pangloss, who teaches that everything happens for the best. When Candide and the Baron’s daughter Cunegonde fall in love and are discovered, they are cast out into the world. The audience takes a satirical ride with the pair through adventures and misfortunes that test their seemingly undoubting optimism. Bernstein’s Candide enchants with some of the most memorable music ever written for Broadway including “The Best of All Possible Worlds,” “Oh Happy We,” “I Am Easily Assimilated,” “Glitter and be Gay,” and “Make Our Garden Grow.”
“One of the things that we wanted to do for our 30th Anniversary Season was return our productions to a level of grandeur, ambition, and imagination in our larger space,” says artistic director Peter DuBois, “and that’s just what Mary’s production of Candide will do.”
“Candide’s gorgeous music and lyrical wit act as proof of the very best potential of human beings and the beauty of this life—while at the same instant, the story is revealing some of the worst and most difficult aspects of that life,” says Zimmerman. Voltaire’s satiric genius is found in Candide’s earnest attempts to trivialize the tragedy and uphold the contention of his mentor, Dr. Pangloss, that all things happen for the best in this ‘best of all possible worlds’. Although the journey is described with humor, Voltaire also raises serious questions: How can mankind deal with disaster without surrendering to despair? Can optimism prevail in a world that frequently seems randomly cruel? How is survival itself possible in an environment that often gleefully refutes Pangloss’s hopeful axiom?
Mary Zimmerman (adapter/director) is the 1998 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play, and ten Joseph Jefferson Awards (including Best Production and Best Direction). At the Huntington, she directed Journey to the West (also at the Goodman Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company of Chicago, an Artistic Associate of both Goodman Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and a professor of performance studies at Northwestern University. She has adapted and directed across the country Argonautika, Mirror of the Invisible World, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Odyssey, Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses (Tony Award), Secret in the Wings, and a new opera with Philip Glass called Galileo Galilei. She made her Metropolitan Opera directorial debut with Lucia di Lammermoor in 2007; subsequent Met productions include Armida and La Sonnambula.
Leonard Bernstein (composer, 1918 – 1990) was a world-renowned musician, conductor, and composer throughout his entire adult life. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world’s major orchestras, recording hundreds of these performances. His books and the televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic established him as a leading educator. His compositions include Jeremiah, The Age of Anxiety, Kaddish, Serenade, Five Anniversaries, Mass, Chichester Psalms, Slava!, Songfest, Divertimento for Orchestra, Missa Brevis, Arias and Barcarolles, Concerto for Orchestra, and A Quiet Place. Bernstein composed for the Broadway musical stage, including On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, and West Side Story. In addition to their West Side Story collaboration, Bernstein worked with choreographer Jerome Robbins on three major ballets: Fancy Free, Facsimile, and Dybbuk. Born in Lawrence, MA and educated at Boston Latin and Harvard College, Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including the Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Theatre, eleven Emmy Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.
THE CAST
Tom Aulino (Baron, others), Spencer Curnutt (Sailor, others), McCaela Donovan (Pacquette, others), Alexander Elisa (Inkeeper, others), Rebecca Finnegan (Baroness, others), Evan Harrington (Orator, others), Erik Lochtefeld (Maximilian, others), Lauren Molina (Cunegonde), Abby Mueller (Orator’s Wife, others), Geoff Packard (Candide), Jeff Parker (Anabaptist and others), Jesse Perez (Cacambo, others), Emma Rosenthal (Bird, others), Cheryl Stern (Old Lady), Timothy John Smith (Governor, others), Joey Stone (Soldier, others), Tempe Thomas (Queen of El Dorado, others), Travis Turner (Servant, others), and Larry Yando (Pangloss, others). Swings are Tom Hamlett and Shonna McEachern. A third will be announced shortly.
PRODUCTION ARTISTS
Mary Zimmerman (direction/adaptation), Doug Peck (Musical Direction), Daniel Pelzig (Choreography), Dan Ostling (Scenic Design), Mara Blumenfeld (Costume Design) Timothy J. Gerckens (Lighting Design), Richard Woodbury (Sound Design), M. William Shiner (Production Stage Manager), Kevin Fitzpatrick (Stage Manager), Katie Most (Stage Manager).
SPONSORS
· Grand Patron: Boston University
· 30th Anniversary Sponsor: Carol G. Deane
· Season Sponsor: J. David Wimberly
· Production Sponsors: Gerry and Sherry Cohen
· Production Co-Sponsor: Shirley Spero
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Gorgeously imagined, Candide is a garden of delights!” – Chicago Tribune
“Zimmerman makes many of the songs feel far more dramatic and layered than they have before. The best of all possible Candides.” — Variety
“A pleasure to behold…polished, pretty, and well-sung.” — The New York Times
“Eye-poppingly lavish. An extravagant parade of wonders. The cast is an embarrassment of riches. Gardens bloom eternal in Zimmerman’s Candide.” — Chicago Examiner
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading theatre company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.
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MORE ON CANDIDE
THE ADAPTATION
Few modern musicals have enjoyed the extensive exploration and reexamination that Candide has in the years following its 1956 Broadway debut. Mary Zimmerman, “a specialist in literary spectacle (from whom) theatrical fireworks are expected” (The New York Times), has created a new book for this production by returning afresh to Voltaire’s original Candide, Or Optimism (1759). She has ordered the sequence of events in Candide’s adventure—many of which had been altered for previous productions—to align more closely with the novella’s original structure.
Music Director Doug Peck has tailored Bernstein’s score for the cast of 19 and orchestra of 14, “wrapping the music around Mary’s adaptation, blending Bernstein and Voltaire in a way that emphasizes them both.” Audiences will be treated to such popular songs as “Candide Overture,” “The Best of All Possible Worlds,” “It Must Be So,” “I Am Easily Assimilated,” “We Are Women,” “My Love,” “Quiet,” and the heartfelt finale, “Make Our Garden Grow.” Bernstein’s score reflects a variety of classical influences, including Mozart and Verti (“Auto-da-fé”), Gilbert and Sullivan (“Bon Voyage”), Gounod’s Faust (“Glitter and Be Gay”) and Schoenberg (“Quiet”).
“With Candide, Bernstein composed something wholly unusual; the singing style is more complex and challenging than most musicals,” said Peck, who bases his orchestrations on those used in the Royal National Theatre’s production, and uses underscoring for scenes that Zimmerman selected from the novella but that were never set to music.
THE HISTORY
“There is more of me in that piece than anything else I have ever done.” (Leonard Bernstein, on Candide)
The idea for musicalizing Voltaire’s novella came to Bernstein and playwright Lillian Hellman in the midst of the anti-Communist Congressional purges of the early 1950s; both agreed that the political excesses of 18th century France mirrored the assault on individual rights that they were experiencing. Collaborating with lyricist John Latouche, Hellman and Bernstein began work in 1954, eventually involving young poet Richard Wilbur as lyricist, and Dorothy Parker and James Agee contributing to the book, as well.
Candide premiered on Broadway in 1956, playing at Boston’s Colonial Theatre beforehand. The show’s cast recording attracted a cult following among musical theater aficionados, but few new productions were attempted until 1974, when director Harold Prince created a new version of the show for Brooklyn’s Chelsea Theater Center. Hugh Wheeler created a new book that emphasized the loopy humor of Voltaire’s satire. In 1982, again under Prince’s direction, the New York City Opera presented a greatly expanded Candide, and Prince revived Candide on Broadway in an opulent 1997 production. A year later, British director/playwright John Caird created another new iteration of the show for a production at London’s Royal National Theatre. Although Bernstein’s score remained intact, both Sondheim and Wilbur provided slightly revised lyrics for some songs.
A 2004 semi-staged New York Philharmonic concert version starred Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde and Patti LuPone as the Old Lady. In honor of the show’s 50th anniversary in 2006, Candide was revived at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and at La Scala in Milan.
See excerpts of musical numbers from Candide at huntingtontheatre.org/candidevideo.
THE BOSTON CONNECTIONS
· Composer Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, MA. He attended Boston Latin and Harvard College.
· Candide played Boston’s Colonial Theatre in 1956 before premiering on Broadway.
· The cast includes Boston actors McCaela Donovan as Paquette (The Donkey Show at A.R.T.’s Oberon, The Drowsy Chaperone at SpeakEasy Stage Company) and Timothy John Smith as the Governor (Prelude to a Kiss at the Huntington, Nine at SpeakEasy Stage Company, and The Receptionist at Trinity Repertory Company).
THIS PRODUCTION
· A Voltaire Musical? Must be Mary Zimmerman at the Goodman, Chicago Tribune, 9/10/10
· First-degree Bernstein: Doug Peck revamps Candide’s score, Time Out Chicago, 9/22/10
(Also available at huntingtontheatre.org/AboutCandide)
PRODUCTION CALENDAR AND RELATED EVENTS
